When you’re pushing yourself to speak in Spanish, French, or any foreign language, and you’ve managed to stop the other person from coaxing you into English, don’t feel guilty if you then struggle to be understood or don’t catch everything that's being said.

If you get stuck, keep your sentences short and simple. And remember—there is no limit to how many times you can ask someone to repeat themselves.

As a language learner, you need to let go of social protocol. Stop trying to make things easier for other people—you’re the one learning! Fumble your way through with your target language, and eventually, you’ll improve.

If you’re in France for a week, speak French! Don’t let anyone push you into English. You’ve only got a week to practise, so make the most of it.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve asked someone to repeat themselves 17 times or 18 times—just ask again. You’ll get it eventually. Or they might switch to English—but even then, you can listen and try to match what they said to the words you didn’t understand.

When learning a language, forget about making others feel at ease. Every conversation is helping you improve—you’re not in Spain to help someone practise their English. If they want that, tell them to go to England!